


I Will Wait

by sewuwu



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, Angst, Based On Dramarama, Eventual Fluff, Family Issues, Fluff, I'm Sorry, M/M, Non-Graphic Violence, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Strangers to Friends to Lovers, Teleportation, University Setting, Wonho and Shownu Aren't In This
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-01
Updated: 2018-10-04
Packaged: 2019-05-31 19:38:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 15,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15126470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sewuwu/pseuds/sewuwu
Summary: Kihyun is struggling with the expectations of his final year of university; assignments, exams and thinking about the future.He is also struggling with the fact that a guy keeps randomly showing up in his life and disappearing without a trace.





	1. The Bathroom

**Author's Note:**

> hello! welcome to the changki!teleportation au that the world doesn't need but i'm providing anyway. i'm a little obsessed with changki after seeing monsta x in london so this is the result of that lmao
> 
> enjoy!!!

Kihyun runs up the stairs and storms into his room, his footsteps echoing on the mahogany steps as he goes. His blood is boiling with anger, so much so he is worried his emotions are going to spill over and make everything even worse. He needs space. He needs to be alone. After slamming the door shut and sliding down to the floor, his fists clenching up as be brings them to his face, it takes all of his energy to keep back the tears stinging in his eyes. He won’t cry. He already ran away from confrontation, but he won’t give his father the satisfaction of knowing that he made his son cry. He will **not** cry.

 

After a few minutes of breathing deeply, Kihyun slowly gets up and walks to his closet. He takes out his tattered old suitcase with leather straps that are bound to snap at any moment and opens it up on his bed. If his father is so keen for Kihyun to continue with his studies and completely disregard his mental health for the sake of the family name and fortune, then so be it. Kihyun will take this moment as an opportunity to leave this damn house whilst he can. He turns towards his closet and grabs his clothes, not caring about what he’s taking, and stuffs them into the suitcase. He throws a few pairs of shoes on top of his clothes and shoves his notebooks and laptops into his rucksack. As he goes to grab his coat from its hook, he hears something smash in the bathroom next to his room. Kihyun freezes. He didn’t realise his dad was as angry as he was about their argument, but if he’s smashing up their shared bathroom like that, then he _must_ be. Kihyun stays silent as he listens to his father but there hasn’t been another noise since the first crash, and Kihyun is suddenly concerned that his dad has hurt himself. He waits a few more seconds before slowly making his way towards his door, because although he is 21 in three months’ time, he is still much weaker than his father and he doesn’t want to get involved with that.

 

As Kihyun slowly opens his bedroom door and leans out to the corridor, he hears his father muttering angrily to himself in the kitchen downstairs, which sets off an alarm bell in his mind. Because if his father hasn’t moved from the kitchen since their argument, then who…

 

His thought is interrupted by a quiet moan coming from inside the bathroom.

 

Kihyun leans back into his room and grabs the hockey stick next to the door, the singular piece of evidence of 10-year-old him trying sports to make his dad happy. He keeps the stick to his chest as he peaks into the bathroom, but he has trouble seeing anything as the light hasn’t been turned on. Kihyun stops for a second and figures that he should keep the light off so he doesn’t alert the intruder of his presence, and he takes his first step into the bathroom. At first glance there doesn’t seem to be anything out of place, which confuses Kihyun because he’s sure he heard that crash coming from this very room. But as he looks around, he notices that the curtain surrounding the bathtub has been pulled across, and Kihyun knows that that is not where its supposed to be. Which means that something is hiding in his bathtub. Which means he is not alone in this tiny bathroom. Which has Kihyun freaking out a bit. Kihyun takes a deep breath and steps forward as quietly as he can, before gripping the curtain in his left hand whilst still holding the hockey stick tightly with his right. He stands as tall as he can, rips the curtain across, and raises his hockey stick to find a guy not much younger than him curled up in his bathtub.

 

Of all of the monsters and demons that Kihyun’s mind had prepared him for, a guy with a terrified expression on his face was the last thing that he was expecting.

 

As he takes in the shivering form of the younger guy, Kihyun immediately lowers the hockey stick from his attacking position but keeps it in front of him in a defensive position. After a few minutes of staring at him in bewilderment, Kihyun realises that the guy in front of him is not making any moves to attack him, so Kihyun shuts the bathroom door behind him and steps forward again.

 

“Uhhh… hello?” Kihyun whispers to the figure before him. The guy hasn’t moved since Kihyun opened the curtain and if Kihyun couldn’t hear the rapid breaths coming from the guy’s mouth, he’d be sure he had a dead body to dispose of. Kihyun frowns a little and lightly taps the edge of the bathtub with the end of his hockey stick. “Y’know, it’s not cool to break into someone’s home and not reply to them…” Kihyun is a bit of an expert when it comes to making jokes in awkward situations, but this doesn’t seem to be making the guy smile. Kihyun frowns again and scratches the back of his neck with his free hand. What is he supposed to do with this guy?

 

“Look, I’m actually planning on leaving this dump in 5 minutes, and I don’t know how you got into my bathroom… but since you don’t want to talk, I’m tempted to just leave you here for my father to deal with.” At the mention of the word ‘father’, the guy flinches slightly and looks up to meet Kihyun’s eyes for the first time. The amount of hurt and confusion in those eyes makes Kihyun soften slightly, and as he takes in the guy’s face he notices that the boy has a cut along his cheekbone. Where on _earth_ did this guy come from? Kihyun reaches out to look at the injury closely but the guy recoils away from his touch. Kihyun steps back from him and sighs quietly.

 

“I’ve got a first-aid kit in my room,” Kihyun points behind him in the direction of his room, “I’ll be able to help you with that cut. Just… just stay here, okay?”

 

Kihyun opens the door as quietly as he did before, as to not alert his father of the situation, and goes to his drawers to find his first-aid kit. He’s had it for years, and fortunately never had to use it for himself, but Kihyun suddenly wonders if the supplies will be okay to use. Do bandages and antiseptic wipes go off? Kihyun shakes his head at the stupid question in his head. Kihyun also switches out the hockey stick in his hand for the water bottle on his bedside table in case the stranger is dehydrated. As he walks back to the bathroom, he tries not to think about the fact that he is helping out a stranger that could still be a threat to him, and how his father would react if he caught Kihyun trying to sneak the both of them out of his house.

 

However, Kihyun realises that there is no need for him to worry about the situation with his father, because said stranger is no longer in his bathroom. He has seemingly disappeared without a trace.


	2. The Coffee Shop

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> cant believe how quickly ive updated this! 
> 
> we finally get some interaction between the guys, i hope you all like it!!

It has been two weeks since Kihyun moved back into his university halls. It has been two weeks since Kihyun found the stranger in his bathroom. It has been _two weeks_ and Kihyun can’t stop thinking about him. Who was he? Where did he come from? How did he get into Kihyun’s house? Why did he look so scared? Why was he injured? And, most importantly, where did he go? No matter how many times Kihyun thinks about these six questions, he is never any closer to an answer and that frustrates him. He thought about telling someone in his university halls, but he is worried that they would think he was making it up, so he keeps it to himself.

 

Being thrown back into his university routine has helped him slightly, as it provides enough of a distraction to stop him from overthinking the whole situation. But, being thrown back into his university routine also reminds him of why he had the argument with his father in the first place – he is miserable here. He has no close friends, he is struggling with his course when everybody else seems to be fine, and nobody seems to be willing to help him. He floats through his timetable, trying to retain information on business models and economic strategies, but to no avail. Kihyun’s brain wasn’t built to study business and management, but that is what his father pushed him into, with the intention of Kihyun helping in the management of the family business. If Kihyun had a choice in his university degree, he would be at the smaller campus, studying literature and getting into debates on gender representation in Shakespeare. _That_ was what he was passionate about. However, there was no point thinking about what could have been because he had made it through two years of his business degree and he would struggle through his final year so he doesn’t have to see this campus ever again.

 

Whilst he thinks about all of this, Kihyun makes his way to a coffee shop off campus so he doesn’t have to run into any of his classmates. It’s currently the lunch break between lectures and making small talk about economics whilst he tries to enjoy a pastry and some coffee is not exactly his idea of a relaxing break. The coffee shop he walks to is his usual lunch spot so the staff know his order, which some people could take as a sign that he has a caffeine problem, but Kihyun just sees it as making his time between not having his pastry and having his pastry much shorter. After greeting the staff and confirming that he wants his usual, Kihyun takes himself to his preferred booth – the one that is tucked up in the corner, away from the counter and the entrance to the shop. He liked to read during his breaks and it was essential for him to have no distractions.

 

As the staff member brings over a tray with the pastry and the coffee, Kihyun smiles softly at them and thanks them – just because he was an isolated person by choice, that didn’t mean he didn’t have manners. He sips his coffee and hums quietly to himself, pleased with the taste, and takes his book out of his bag. He opens it to where he had stopped last time and delves back into the fantasy world written onto the pages, forgetting the world around him for a while. Getting completely caught up in the action of the novel in front of him, Kihyun suddenly remembers his pastry and places the book down to concentrate on his lunch. As he looks up, Kihyun is so startled he drops the knife he is holding. Because, right there, in front of him, is the guy from his bathroom.

 

The guy is sitting in the booth chair opposite him, and Kihyun quickly realises that he didn’t hear him come over and sit down. He frowns slightly and starts to panic. Is this guy stalking him? How did he know where Kihyun was? Why is he not saying anything?

 

“Who are you?” Kihyun blurts out before he can stop himself. It is a good question, but it isn’t exactly a conversation starter.

 

The guy looks around the shop for a few moments, his eyes moving rapidly but the rest of his face staying still. He finally looks back at Kihyun and furrows his eyebrows, before going back to his blank, neutral state.

 

Kihyun sighs irritably and picks up the the butter knife, because _yes_ he is still scared of the guy.  After another bout of silence, it occurs to Kihyun that perhaps the stranger doesn’t speak the same language as him and his frustration could be misplaced. “Do you understand me?” The stranger blinks and looks down in response and Kihyun rolls his eyes. “I’m taking that as a yes but I could be very wrong. I have questions, naturally, since you seem to be stalking me and don’t seem to be in any rush to leave.” Kihyun cuts his pastry into slices and pops a piece in his mouth as he decides which question he should ask first.

 

“What’s your deal? Do you need something? Because if you want money, you’ve really come to the wrong person.” Kihyun scoffs at the thought of the non-existent balance in his bank account. Kihyun picks up another piece of pastry whilst he waits for some kind of response, savouring the taste of the flaky, buttery pastry in his mouth. _God,_ this coffee shop knows what its doing.

 

“Where am I?”

 

Kihyun stops chewing and looks up at the guy. His eyes meet a look of pure confusion.

 

“Huh? We’re in Paris Baguette...?” Kihyun is sure he must be reflecting the same amount of confusion. The guy furrows his eyebrows and leans in a bit, hands gripping the edge of the table.

 

“No. Where _am_ I? What city is this?”

 

Kihyun blinks. “Seoul. We’re in Seoul. Just outside Dongguk University in Chungmuro to be exact.” Was this guy joking with him? How did he not know where they were? How did he get here if he didn’t even know what city he was in? Kihyun had so many more questions now.

 

“Seoul?” the guy blinks again and looks around again. “ _Seoul_? Oh my god…”

 

Kihyun just sits and chews slowly as he watches the guy look around frantically. What is this guy’s deal? Kihyun is in two minds to leave him in this coffee shop and get to his lecture hall early so he doesn’t have to deal with this weirdo again. But before he can even think about ditching, the guy grabs Kihyun’s arm and looks into his eyes. “I need to… I need to get home…” he whispers desperately, “I shouldn’t be here. _How_ did I get here?”

 

Kihyun slowly peels the guy’s hand off of his arm and sits back a bit, crossing his arms. “I’ve been asking myself that since the bathroom incident.”

 

“The bathroom incident? How did you-” the guy widens his eyes. “That was _you_?”

“Yes _, you_ broke into _my_ house, dude. So I’m not exactly set on helping you get home.”

 

As Kihyun says this, the guy gets up suddenly, murmuring something about going to the bathroom. Kihyun watches him walk away for a second before realising that he should probably keep an eye on him since he doesn’t seem okay. Kihyun looks around at the shop quickly to see if anybody has been watching them interact. If he was walking to his death in the toilets, he wanted to be sure that somebody got a good look at the strange guy who was talking to him. After realising that nobody had seen them because he had picked such an isolated spot, Kihyun sighed and stood up. It’s his fault that nobody saw the dude, so he will deal with the consequences.

 

Kihyun walks quickly towards the bathroom and looks into each of the stalls. All of them are open. And all of them are empty. There is nobody in here with him. The guy has disappeared into thin air _again._

This better not become a reoccurrence in Kihyun’s life.


	3. Not Quite With It

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the delay! ive started my new job and im still getting used to the schedule :) 
> 
> there may be another chapter update today so have a look out for that ~ enjoy!

After taking a look around the bathroom for the sixth time, Kihyun is sure that there is not a secret passage out of Paris Baguette that his stalker could have used, which leaves him even more confused than he was before. Because this dude actually disappeared into thin air.

 

Unless he is a figment of Kihyun’s imagination. Kihyun had thought about that as he was on the train from his hometown to Seoul, but he pushed it to the back of his mind because the guy felt too real, the fear on his face so heart-breaking that you just couldn’t possibly make it up. And he had grabbed Kihyun’s arm in the coffee shop, and that had _definitely_ felt real. So Kihyun doesn’t know what to do with the guy, but he does know that he has to get to his lecture.

 

He makes it to his lecture hall early and sits in the back row as he usually does, and opens up his laptop and clicks on his internet browser. Maybe the guy had Facebook? Kihyun goes to type in the website’s address but stops himself. He didn’t know the guy’s name. The guy didn’t know Kihyun’s name. Facebook was going to be useless. Kihyun sighs quietly to himself and rests his head in his hand as he stares at his computer screen. How can he search for someone that he knows literally nothing about? Was he even sure he _wanted_ to find him? Kihyun sits up and furrows his eyebrows in thought. It was a long shot, but someone else may have had the same issue as him, and they may have posted about it online somewhere. Kihyun starts to type out phrases such as “person appearing and disappearing at random moments” and “injured person appears out of nowhere” into Google and scours the search results for anything helpful. As he gets sucked into a detailed journal on alien encounters, people from his course start to flood into the hall, and he barely feels the tap on his shoulder from the guy sitting a few seats away from him. Kihyun looks up and jumps slightly at the close proximity of the other person and slams his laptop shut before smiling weakly.

 

“Hi Minhyuk” he says quietly as he gets his notebook out from his bag. Minhyuk smiles brightly back at him and mimics Kihyun’s motions, slamming his notebook on the desk.

 

“Kihyun! Dude! Where were you at lunch?” Kihyun tilts his head in confusion slightly but suddenly remembers that Minhyuk had invited him to McDonalds with some of their course mates. Minhyuk looks genuinely sad as he waits for Kihyun’s reply, and Kihyun almost feels bad about it.

 

Kihyun scratches the back of his neck. “Uhhh… sorry dude. I was stuck in the library with all of this coursework.” Kihyun sighs internally because he knows Minhyuk knows he isn’t the kind of student to let his work pile up and he would see through his shitty lie. However, Minhyuk just makes an understanding noise and turns back towards the front of the lecture hall to listen to their professor. Kihyun also turns back, but faces his notebook instead. He lets his mind wander and starts to write down possible theories surrounding the mysterious disappearing guy. All he can write down is

 

He’s an alien. He’s an _alien._ **He’s an alien.** _He’s_ an ALIEN. **_HE’S AN ALIEN!!!!!!!!!!_**

****

Over and over again.

 

That was it. Kihyun is being observed by some other-worldly being and he is going to be beamed up to their ship when the time arrives. If he thought people didn’t want to be friends with him before, his course mates are definitely going to avoid him when he comes back to Earth shouting about extra-terrestrials and UFOs all the time. As Kihyun has this realisation he looks up to see that everyone around him has packed up their things and are making their way out of the lecture hall. Had he really spent the entire hour thinking about aliens?

 

“You okay, dude?” Kihyun looks up to see Minhyuk staring at the incoherent scrawls all over his notebook page and Kihyun flushes in embarrassment.

 

“YEAH!” Kihyun coughs and shuts his notebook. “Yeah, yeah I am fine.” He gets up suddenly and stuffs everything in his rucksack. He turns around again and gives Minhyuk a baffled smile. “Hey err… dude, could you send me your notes from today? I don’t think I got-“ He’s interrupted by a piece of paper being pushed towards him.

 

“I got you covered bro. I had a feeling you weren’t quite with it today.” Minhyuk smiles brightly at him again and walks past him and down the stairs. Kihyun stares at the piece of paper in his hand and then looks back at Minhyuk’s retreating figure and smiles to himself. Maybe he _did_ have a friend at this university.  

 

As Kihyun leaves the campus for the day, he realises how exhausted he feels. He had spent so long thinking about theories surrounding this guy, and it was truly consuming his every train of thought. Why did he care so much? Did he want to help him? Did he want a friend? Kihyun thinks about these questions as he walks into his dormitory and unlocks his door. He throws his rucksack towards his closet and immediately lays down on his bed as soon as he kicks off his shoes. With his eyes closed and his mind still racing, he almost misses the feeling that alerts him that someone is in his room with him.

 

Kihyun opens his eyes and sees _him_. Standing in the middle of his room with a tattered, old bag in his hand. Kihyun takes a sharp intake of breath and immediately gets up and puts his hands out in a calming, peaceful manner.

 

“Please.” He starts. “Please don’t disappear. My name is Kihyun. I… I want to help.”


	4. Revelations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> two updates in one day!!! and we're finally getting some info on what the heck is going on!

Kihyun watches as the guy consider his statement for a second, freaking out internally. Why did he say that? He didn’t know this guy’s name, where he was from, if he’s even human, and yet Kihyun just told him that he wants to help. _Why did he say that?_

“How can you help me?” The guy is looking at Kihyun with a look that he can’t quite decipher as positive or negative, so he chooses to ignore it. Kihyun realises that he is just standing awkwardly with his hands up and brings his arms to his side and sits back down on his bed. He sighs quietly.

 

“You said you weren’t meant to be in Seoul.” Kihyun says softly, trying to calm the nerves of both himself and the guy in front of him. “And you’re here again. So you obviously need help. And err… I can help. If you need it.” God, why was he _so bad_ at talking to people?

 

The guy smiles to himself and leans back on the desk behind him, still clutching the bag tightly. He opens it and takes out a small white card and throws it towards Kihyun and says the word “Changkyun” as it lands in Kihyun’s lap. Kihyun gives him a confused look before he glances at the card in his hand. It seems to be a form of identity and has the word Changkyun on it, along with a photo of a younger version of the guy in front of him. “If you want to help, I figured you should probably know my name.”

 

“Changkyun…” Kihyun says mostly to himself as he passes the card back. “Are you an alien?”

 

Changkyun laughs suddenly and rolls his eyes slightly. Kihyun flushes a deep red and curses his brain for blurting out his stupid ideas. He stumbles as he says “It’s just… you disappeared into thin air. Twice. I googled it, and aliens were my only answer…” He shuts his mouth before he can embarrass himself again.

 

Changkyun twiddles the ID card in his hand and shoves it into his bag again. “I wish I was an alien.” He pulls his sleeve up and shows Kihyun a fancy watch with several clock faces and gears moving at different speeds. Kihyun had never seen a watch that complex in his life “Teleportation device.”

 

Kihyun’s mouth gapes open as he stares at Changkyun. He couldn’t even begin to process this information. “T-teleportation? You… teleportation?”

 

“The word you’re looking for is teleport. But yes, I teleport. However, this,” Changkyun slaps the watch with frustration, “this shitty watch keeps doing it by itself and I keep… ending up here.”

 

Kihyun blinks slightly, still trying to wrap his head around the fact that _teleporting_ is a thing that exists. “It keeps bringing you to Seoul?”

 

Changkyun averts his gaze and scratches his arms slightly in response to Kihyun’s question. “Kind of…”

 

“Kind of?”

 

Changkyun looks up at Kihyun and grimaces slightly before opening his mouth again, obviously deciding on whether to tell the truth or not. He sighs and hugs his arms around himself. “For some reason, it keeps bringing me to you.”

 

Kihyun’s mouth flies open again but he shuts it quickly. Why was the watch bringing this guy who he had never met before to _him_? To Yoo Kihyun of all people? His mind is going at 100 miles per hour with all of this new information and he suddenly realises that Changkyun might not trust him. “I had nothing to do with this. I… I don’t know you-“ Kihyun exclaims hurriedly, but is cut off by Changkyun.

  
“I know. I figured that you were clueless about the whole thing when we were in that coffee shop.”

 

Kihyun frowns. “Thanks? I think?” As he thinks about Changkyun’s situation, he paces the room. Changkyun just watches him, fiddling with his watch now and again but ultimately giving up with it. The only way that Kihyun was going to understand the situation was to do some research, since Changkyun didn’t seem like he was going to explain the science behind teleportation to Kihyun anytime soon. Kihyun goes to his bag and grabs his laptop and places it on his desk next to Changkyun, opening it on the alien websites that he had been devouring earlier. He closes them, not missing the amused look that Changkyun gives him, and begins to google everything that is known about teleportation, grabbing his notebook to take notes of anything that seemed important. After he felt like his mind couldn’t process anymore information, Kihyun closes his laptop and looks around to see that Changkyun has made himself comfortable on Kihyun’s bed, and Kihyun flushes slightly at the idea of another guy being on his bed, but shakes the thoughts out of his head and turns back to the notebook. He coughs to get Changkyun’s attention and hears Changkyun sit up behind him.

 

“So, I did some research. I’m aware that you know more than me on teleportation, so I tried to look into ways that it could be broken. Which proved difficult since y’know, teleportation isn’t meant to be possible…” Kihyun looks up from his notebook and finds that Changkyun is listening attentively to him and this encourages him to continue on. “But, from what I _could_ find on teleportation, some journals say that, hypothetically, a person’s emotions could intertwine with the notions of teleportation. So in other words, if you are in danger, you could just _think_ about teleporting, and you would teleport to safety. But yeah, this is just a hypothesis but it was the one explanation that made the most sense to me, given your situation…”

 

Changkyun signals for Kihyun to pass him the notebook, which he does, and he watches Changkyun take in all of the information. He hums in response to the notes and looks up at Kihyun with a look of bafflement on his face as he passes the notebook back to Kihyun.

 

“I think… I think this may be it. It makes sense… I can’t believe _you_ worked this out before I did…”

 

Kihyun scoffs in response. “You’re welcome?” But the smile on his face is stopped by a sudden thought. “Does that mean you thought you were in danger when you teleported away from me?”

 

“Well, I didn’t _know_ you. I thought you had something to do with my watch messing up. I had every right to be wary of you.” Kihyun hums in agreement and jots that down in his notebook. But another thought strikes him.

 

“You’re in danger. At home.” He remembers the first time he saw Changkyun. “The injuries on your face… Changkyun… What is going on at-“

 

Changkyun’s eyes widen as he listens to Kihyun and he gets up suddenly, pushing past Kihyun and running out of the door before Kihyun can catch up with him. Kihyun runs after him anyway although he knows that he’s going to be greeted by an empty corridor. Seeing the abandoned corridor before him, Kihyun slides down the wall and sits on the floor, resting his head on his knees as he makes a promise to himself and to Changkyun.

 

He couldn’t explain why, but, he was going to help Changkyun.


	5. The Stars

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a bit of a longer chapter this time!!!! i hope you all enjoy :')

Kihyun knows that there is no point in waiting around for Changkyun to come back. Kihyun knows that he messed up by sticking his nose into other people’s lives. But he couldn’t deny that he waited for him every single day. And he couldn’t deny that he didn’t regret asking Changkyun those questions. So he has to live with his choices.

 

He tries to move on from thinking too much about what he said by going to the library with Minhyuk. He thought that he might as well make friends with someone other than the mysterious time-travelling/teleporting guy that he has pissed off, and Minhyuk is friendly enough to deal with Kihyun’s quiet nature. Although the library sessions were meant to be for his coursework, Kihyun tends to spend every minute looking into teleportation theories, and doesn’t even notice Minhyuk reading his notebook over his shoulder now and again as he writes page after page on everything he can get his hands on. His friendship with Minhyuk goes outside of the library after a few weeks, and Kihyun lets him know about his sacred Paris Baguette location, which turns out to be a blessing for both of them as Minhyuk gets a part-time job there and Kihyun is able to reap the benefits of it through discounts and free coffees.

 

The routine of lectures with Minhyuk, library sessions with Minhyuk, and coffee shop “dates” with Minhyuk become so normal to Kihyun that, if he wasn’t constantly researching teleportation in his spare time, he is sure he would have forgotten about his promise to Changkyun by now. He feels saddened when he thinks about this fact, but how could he help Changkyun if he wasn’t coming back? And surely the fact that he hasn’t come back should be good news for Kihyun, because that means that Changkyun isn’t in danger, right?

 

But, no matter how many times he tried to convince himself, Kihyun didn’t believe that Changkyun was fine.

 

It has been a particularly long evening session at the library when Kihyun realises that he has run out of research material. It had been three long weeks of source searching, highlighting and note-taking, but he has finally exhausted the internet and his university library out of everything they had to offer. He pushes himself away from his computer and stretches in his chair, missing Minhyuk’s quick glance at his exposed stomach. Minhyuk coughs and Kihyun looks his way, tilting his head in anticipation of some sort of question.

 

“You done with your…” Minhyuk waves his hand in the general direction of Kihyun’s notebook, “whatever that is?”

 

Kihyun nods at him and realises he never told Minhyuk what he was doing, since it was clear to the both of them that his notebook had nothing to do with business management. “It was for a physics class I was taking this semester. I uh... I minor in physics. Had to do a research paper on teleportation, of all things.” He fakes a quiet laugh and averts his eyes from Minhyuk by closing his notebook and putting it in his bag, trying to calm down his heart. He hates lying to people.

 

Minhyuk’s eyes widen for a second. “Physics? Dude. I didn’t realise you were _that_ clever.” He laughs to himself and smiles brightly at Kihyun, bumping shoulders with him playfully. “And here I was thinking you were just obsessed with aliens or something.” Kihyun flushes at the memory, the state of his notebook from that lecture.

 

“No, no… that was just… I don’t know” he laughs bashfully again, smiling at Minhyuk. “But I should get home now. I’ve got that 9am class tomorrow and I’m going to need all the sleep I can get.” He gets out of his chair and goes to grab his bag, but Minhyuk beats him to it, slinging it over his own shoulder instead.

 

“Let me walk you back. I’m done here and your place is on my way home anyways.” Kihyun realises that Minhyuk looks almost shy as he says this, which is a first for his friend. Kihyun tucks his hands in his pockets since he doesn’t know what else to do with them and shrugs.

 

“Sure, since you’re already heading that way.”

 

They walk in silence out of the library and through campus, Kihyun feeling awkward at the sudden intimacy of their shared night-time walk, even if it is just from a library session. Kihyun looks up and notices that the sky is clear, and takes in the array of stars decorating the night sky. He wonders if Changkyun is looking at the same stars as him right now. He’s so lost in thought that he doesn’t see the figure in front of him or hear Minhyuk’s warning, and bumps straight into the person, knocking them over. Kihyun stumbles a bit and Minhyuk grabs his arm before pulling the person up from the ground. The guy brushes the dust from his jeans and looks up, making eye contact with Kihyun.

 

“Changkyun?!” Kihyun can barely contain the surprise and excitement from his voice. He steps towards him and away from Minhyuk, and frowns at the way that Changkyun is gripping his side. Changkyun notices the change in Kihyun’s expression and holds his hand up.

 

“Can we not talk about it? I just… I needed…”

 

Minhyuk coughs awkwardly and Kihyun tears his eyes away from Changkyun to see Minhyuk handing Kihyun his rucksack. “I can see that you guys err… need some privacy, so I’ll head off. I’ll see you tomorrow, Kihyun?” Kihyun looks between the two guys in front of him and nods slowly as he watches Minhyuk walk back the way they had come. Minhyuk didn’t live near Kihyun… he had walked this way just for him… what did that mean for-

 

“So… are we going inside anytime soon or?”

 

Kihyun whips his head around towards Changkyun, who was breathing sharply and still clutching his side, and nods quickly. He all but sprints to the door of his halls and punches the keycode in, letting Changkyun in and closing the door behind him. They step into the elevator together and Kihyun dreads the presumed silence they are about to be engulfed in, but is surprised when Changkyun speaks up as soon as the doors slide shut.

 

“Was that dude like… your boyfriend or something? Did I interrupt?”

 

Kihyun scoffs at that, trying to keep away the blush that threatens to cover his cheeks. “No no… oh my god. No. Minhyuk is just a friend from my course.”

 

Changkyun looks at Kihyun from the corner of his eye. “Oh okay… Are you straight or something? I didn’t mean to presume…”

 

Kihyun blushes deeply at this. “No… I err… I like guys. Yeah. I err… yeah.” Thankfully, the elevator dings at this moment and Kihyun rushes out, practically running to his room door, fumbling with the keys in his pocket and unlocking the door in record time. Changkyun walks behind him, amused at how flustered the university student is, and shuts Kihyun’s door behind him once he has stepped inside. Kihyun rummages through his closet looking for his first aid kit whilst Changkyun settles himself down slowly onto Kihyun’s bed, still grasping at his side.

 

“The only medicine I have are these painkillers, but they should help with the aching a bit.” Kihyun passes the box of medication to Changkyun and grabs a glass of water from his small kitchen area.

 

“Would you mind looking at my side?” Changkyun asks in-between swallowing the pills. Kihyun’s cheek heat up again at the idea of having a shirtless guy in his room, but he nods anyway, walking towards the bed and sitting down next to Changkyun. Changkyun lifts his shirt off of his head and keeps his arm elevated so Kihyun can assess the damage. “How bad are we talking?”

 

Kihyun gasps a little at the sight before him. Changkyun’s ribs were completely bruised on his right side and there was a wound running up towards his back. He wouldn’t be surprised if he had a few cracked ribs as well. Without thinking, Kihyun traces the bruises with a soft and gentle touch, which Changkyun only flinches slightly at, before realising what he is doing and pulls his hand away quickly. He places his hands in his lap. “There’s a lot of bruising Changkyun… And a cut that goes behind and up your back…”

 

Changkyun hums in response, struggling to put his shirt back on. He sits further onto Kihyun’s bed and rests his back against the wall, closing his eyes. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

 

Kihyun nods in agreement but realises that Changkyun didn’t see it. “That’s fine. We don’t have to talk about it…” He shuffles into a more comfortable position, pulling his knees up and resting his arms on them. “I’m sorry.” Changkyun opens his eyes at this and looks at Kihyun, but he continues. “For how I was acting the last time you were here. It wasn’t my place to ask those questions.”

 

“No, it wasn’t.” Kihyun winces at this and Changkyun sighs quietly. “But it’s okay… I guess I’m just not used to people caring about me.”

 

Humming quietly, Kihyun is suddenly reminded of the promise that he had made to himself and to Changkyun. “Well I care. And I want to help you. I mean it.” He looks into Changkyun’s eyes and see them soften.

 

“Since you’re so adamant that you want to help, I want to know more about you. To see if I can fully trust you.”

 

Kihyun looks at Changkyun with an amused expression and sits back in a similar manner to Changkyun. “That seems... logical. What do you want to know?”

 

“Start from the beginning, I guess. I want to know everything.”


	6. Stories

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLO EVERYONE!!!!!!!
> 
> first of all, i am SO SORRY it has taken me EIGHTEEN DAYS to update this lkjekljwqk my life has been so hectic and ive been trying to balance starting a full time job and graduation and i just didnt have the time or energy for this. but i think im getting the hang of it, so i should be able to update this a lot more!!
> 
> second, sorry this is a short-ish update. i will make it up to all of you <333
> 
> thank you for your patience and i hope you enjoy!!

Kihyun stretches his back and shuffles back on the bed further before speaking, keeping a respectful distance between Changkyun and himself. “When I first saw you…” Kihyun immediately regrets starting his dramatic story like that, but carries on regardless. “When you teleported into my home, I was in the middle of an argument with my father and I was packing my stuff up to run away. He made me so angry, and I couldn’t stand being in that house any longer, but your appearance interrupted that plan a little bit. I mean, arguing wasn’t new for me – me and my father have never really gotten along.” Kihyun pauses and sighs quietly, giving Changkyun a weary look before continuing. “That’s not entirely true, actually. We _did_ get along, when my mother was around, but she ditched me and my dad when I was about 11 years old. She couldn’t stand the fact that she was my father’s second love. I couldn’t really blame her.” Changkyun furrows his eyebrows at this and goes to ask a question but Kihyun answers before he can vocalise it. “His business. He cares about his damn family business more than his family. I think he takes out all of his aggression and disappointment with my mother on me. I’ve never done anything right in his eyes.”

 

Kihyun takes a second to catch his breath and still his shaking hands. He didn’t even realise that he was reacting like this until now. He looks Changkyun in the eyes. “It sucks. It really fucking sucks.”

 

Changkyun nods slowly and plays with the hem of his jumper. “You didn’t need to tell me all of that dude… I was expecting to know like, what your university course is, and what you order at that coffee shop…”

 

Kihyun laughs quietly. “I know it wasn’t what you wanted, but I figured that if I told you something personal, you might realise how serious I am about helping you with all of this. Because I am. I want to help you sort out whatever is happening at home.” Kihyun looks at Changkyun again, trying to gauge whether he did the right thing. “Did I… did I pass the test?”

 

Changkyun smiles at this and knocks his shoulder into Kihyun. “I guess so. Now tell me about the boring parts of your life. What _is_ your coffee order at that place?” He winks at Kihyun.

 

Kihyun watches Changkyun out of the corner of his eye as he talks, seeing him settle down under Kihyun’s blanket, closing his eyes as he listens to Kihyun. After 10 minutes of Kihyun talking about anything vaguely interesting in his life, he notices Changkyun’s breaths beginning to even out as he sleeps soundlessly. He smiles to himself and gets up to busy himself whilst the other boy sleeps. As Kihyun puts the numerous pairs of shoes in the shoe closet next to his door, he hears a faint knocking from outside. He frowns at this and looks in Changkyun’s direction to check that the noise didn’t wake him up before quietly opening up the door.

 

There is nobody waiting for Kihyun outside. He looks down the hallway and finds it empty. As he goes to step out to investigate around the complex, his attention is distracted as his foot makes contact with a box. What on earth was going on?

 

After a few minutes of debating the pros and cons, Kihyun picks up the box and lifts up the lid cautiously, worrying that it could contain something dangerous. His eyes light up with surprise as he sees what is in the box, and he lifts up the object carefully.

 

Kihyun has seen this before. He has become very familiar with it over the last few weeks.

 

He is holding a teleportation watch.


	7. Time and Space

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uh.... hello....... [taps mic] is this thing on?
> 
> im back..... like Officially back. and im ready to carry on with this fic. im SO sorry i abandoned this story and ao3 in general but its been a MINUTE and ye, i can only apologise.
> 
> i hope i can make it up to all of you with the dramaramatics (hehe) of this chapter...... here comes the PLOT! i hope you enjoy

Once he had checked that the corridor was clear of any other students, Kihyun looks at the device in his hand, taking in all of the different faces in the watch whilst delicately touching the dials and buttons surrounding the clock face with an intense curiosity. The part of the watch that Kihyun assumes to indicate the year in which the person travels to says 2015, which strikes him as odd, as the year was 2017. The watch is much heavier than Kihyun had anticipated, and the weight of both the watch and the situation he has been placed in suddenly presses down on him. How was he going to tell Changkyun about this? Would Changkyun freak out that someone was following him? Would he take the watch back home with him?

 

Kihyun couldn’t explain why, but part of him didn’t _want_ to tell Changkyun about the watch. If Kihyun was going to truly understand the idea of teleportation, would it not be beneficial for him to have his own device to study in detail?

 

He strokes the glass clock face absentmindedly, weighing up his choices in his mind. As he starts to tense at the idea of arguing with Changkyun over the whole situation, he accidentally presses down on one of the watch’s buttons and his surroundings are suddenly warping around him at a hurtling speed. Kihyun panics and yells into the void, grasping tightly onto the watch as his body is thrown into what Kihyun can only compare to the time and space vortex from Doctor Who. Although it couldn’t have lasted more than a few mere seconds, Kihyun felt like he was plunging through space for years, and by the time he slams back onto solid ground, he feels a great sense of exhaustion in all of his muscles.

 

After taking a few seconds to get his breath back, Kihyun grasps at the ground beneath him and is greeted by the familiar feeling of tarmac crumbling slightly underneath his fingers. He opens his eyes slowly and blinks at the huge blue sky above him for a moment, before turning his head slightly to see the road beneath him extending for miles ahead of him. Furrowing his eyebrows when he realises he cannot decipher the exact location he is in, Kihyun pushes himself up from the ground into a sitting position to try and get a better look at his surroundings. As he takes in the lines of trees on either side of the road, he hears a car roaring towards him and he scrambles to his feet, running towards the side to avoid being run over. He turns towards the car once he is at a safe distance and watches as the car flips and smashes down onto the tarmac. Kihyun gapes at the scene for a moment, before panicking once again. As far as he could see, he was the only person around to help, and as he tapped at his back pocket for his phone to dial 119, he realised he left it… in 2017.

 

He was truly alone on this one.

 

Running towards the car as best as his sore muscles will allow him, Kihyun reaches the driver’s side and kneels down, scraping his knees into the shattered glass and tarmac underneath him. He stands up after a moment and looks into the car and sees a guy not much younger than him slowly turning his bloodied head towards Kihyun, which prompts Kihyun to pull at the door handle to help the guy out of the crushed vehicle. Kihyun realises that the door won’t budge as the hinge has been ruined in the crash, so he opts to try and clear the smashed window frame of broken glass and help the guy slide out of the window instead. He covers his hand with his jumper and starts to brush the glass out, not noticing the guy reaching out and grabbing Kihyun to stop. When fingers grasp at Kihyun’s wrist, he freezes and looks up at the guy in front of him.

 

The guy struggles to speak, wincing in pain with every breath. “Y… You…  help…”

 

Kihyun nods frantically. “I-I’m trying…” he gestures at the glass he brushed out of the frame. “I just need to clear this and then we-“ He cuts himself off when he sees the other shake his head sadly.

 

“Not… me…” Kihyun thinks he can actually see the guy smile slightly before he speaks again. “Ch-changkyun. My…” He winces in pain again. “My brother.”

 

Kihyun is stunned into silence. Surely this guy didn’t mean _Changkyun,_ right? There are plenty of other Changkyuns in Korea... This had to be pure coincidence… Right? Kihyun furrows his eyebrows at himself. What was he thinking? Of course it wasn’t coincidence. Somebody had left the watch outside _his_ door for _him_ to find. And it took _him_ back in time to Changkyun’s brother. He couldn’t ignore this.

 

Kihyun grips onto Changkyun’s brother’s arm. “I know Changkyun. How do I help him?” He thinks of Changkyun’s home life and starts to wonder if his brother’s pleas are connected to that. Changkyun’s brother gasps quietly and pulls his arm to his side before coughing violently. Kihyun fears the worst for the guy and wants to help him, even if he did tell him to help Changkyun. He glances at the watch that he had thrown onto the ground next to him and starts to think. What if....

 

He grabs the watch and slams the button he had touched earlier, throwing himself back into the speeding vortex again. His journey felt considerably shorter and, as he had predicted, he landed in the exact same road again. Not wanting to waste any time, Kihyun starts running in the direction that the car had come from and he starts to wave his arms frantically in an attempt to slow Changkyun’s brother down. The car comes towards him at a terrifying speed but Kihyun doesn’t move from his spot, waving his arms as much as he can, but it was no use. The car flies past him and flips again, and Kihyun can do nothing but watch yet again. He lets out a frustrated growl and pushes the button again. As soon as he lands on the road, he is running towards the car. He didn’t have a plan exactly, but he couldn’t just stand there and let the car flip over and over again in front of him without trying something. Once again, the car doesn’t seem to be slowing down, but as Kihyun runs towards the car, he notices that Changkyun’s brother seems to be panicking and his hands are not holding onto the steering wheel. As the car crashes again, Kihyun slows down to a stop and thinks hastily. What if Changkyun’s brother wasn’t the reason the car flipped? What if somebody else was controlling the car? A shudder goes through Kihyun as he thinks of another question. What if someone was trying to kill them... kill Changkyun?

 

Whatever the situation may be, Kihyun quickly realises that there is nothing he can do for Changkyun’s brother at this moment, and teleporting back to the scene over and over again wasn’t going to help anyone. He was going to have to go further back. He was going to have to find the person that was controlling the car.

He looks forward at the crashed car and sighs quietly, before making a promise to Changkyun’s brother to help him out as soon as possible. He turns the dial on the watch to 2017, praying that it will take him to the exact moment he left Changkyun, and slams the button once again.


	8. Confrontation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i told yall id be back to update regularly ..... and im here with some ANGST and a DIFFERENT POV!!!!! i hope it isnt too confusing lol
> 
> buckle up, and i hope you enjoy

An incessant buzzing noise near Changkyun’s ear makes him blink the sleep away from his eyes. He takes a long look at the spotless white ceiling above him before realising that he isn’t at home, and he throws himself up into a sitting position. He looks around the room surrounding him with panic in his eyes, until his eyes land on a familiar figure in the photograph on the desk. Kihyun couldn’t have been older than 10 years old in the photo, gripping onto a giant fishing rod in one hand and his mother’s hand with the other. His mother had a beautiful smile, something that Kihyun inherited from her, Changkyun thought. Changkyun looks away from the photo as he runs a hand through his hair, and turns his attention towards the crumpled sheets beneath him. He hadn’t planned on falling asleep in Kihyun’s room, but those painkillers really did a good job of knocking him out. As he did his best to smooth the sheets underneath him, the absence of the other boy strikes Changkyun and he furrows his eyebrows. How long had Changkyun been asleep? He reaches towards Kihyun’s now quiet phone to check the time but comes across a stream of messages from Minhyuk on the lock-screen.

 

**Minhyuk: KIHYUN!!!!!!!!!**

**Minhyuk: KIHYUNLKWJQ**

**Minhyuk: DUDE i dont wanna freak out on u like this but**

**Minhyuk: [sent a photo]**

**Minhyuk: THIS LOOKS LIKE THE TELEPORTATION THING** **YOU WERE RESEARCHING FOR PHYSICS**

**Minhyuk: you need to come and see it dude**

**Minhyuk: somebody left it at the cafe**

**Minhyuk: idk what goes on but   i think its ON**

Changkyun reads the messages over a few times before clearing them from the screen. He places the phone next to the photo frame on the desk as the bedroom door opens. Kihyun all but falls into the room and leans against the desk, taking deep breaths before steadying himself and turning around towards Changkyun. Changkyun gives Kihyun a concerned look, and asks him if he is alright.

 

Kihyun nods too quickly and smiles weakly. “I’m fine, I’m fine. I just ran up the stairs…” When Changkyun gives him a questioning look, Kihyun continues, albeit hesitantly. “I went down to the store to grab some food for us… But I didn’t want you to wake up to an empty room, so I ran up the stairs.” He laughs quietly. “I guess I didn’t run fast enough. Sorry about that.” Kihyun continues to laugh awkwardly as he turns away from Changkyun and towards his closet, busying himself with the contents.

 

Changkyun taps his fingers against his knees for a minute whilst watching Kihyun’s hunched frame. Something wasn’t adding up and Changkyun didn’t like it one bit. “Where is the food?”

 

Kihyun doesn’t seem to hear him and only when he finished with distracting himself with the closet, does Kihyun sits down on the bed next to Changkyun and tilt his head to the side slightly. “Did you say something?”

 

Changkyun hums in response and stops the tapping against his knee. “You said you went to the store. Where is the food?”

 

Kihyun’s eyes widen slightly before he catches himself and blinks slowly. He bites his lip slightly and smiles bashfully. “I… I didn’t know what you liked. So I couldn’t decide on anything.” He rubs the back of his neck. Changkyun sighs and leans back on the wall, closing his eyes.

  
“I thought I could trust you.”

 

Kihyun gapes at him for a second before grabbing Changkyun’s wrist. “You can. I… I thought we had been through this already? Changkyun?” Changkyun opens his eyes and meets Kihyun’s alert, almost pleading gaze as he pulls his wrist free from Kihyun’s grip.

 

“Then why are you lying to me? You didn’t go to the store. You didn’t run up those stairs.” He points towards the closet. “And you’re hiding something in there.” As he says this last statement, Changkyun swears he sees the colour drain from Kihyun’s face. He watches the other boy swallow and nod slowly as he starts scratching his fingers along his arm nervously.

 

Kihyun takes a few seconds before responding. “You’re right… you’re right. I wasn’t at the store.” He scoffs softly. “I don’t even know why I bothered lying.” He looks out of the small dorm window before making eye contact with Changkyun again. “I met your brother.”

 

The world seems to freeze around Changkyun as these four words resonate in his ears. Had he heard Kihyun correctly? How on earth had Kihyun met Jooheon? Jooheon has been dead for 2 years in Kihyun’s timeline. How did he know that Jooheon was Changkyun’s brother? _Did_ Kihyun meet his brother, or was it some fraud? He frowned at that. Nobody other than Kihyun’s friend Minhyuk knew about Changkyun being here. His eyes widened as he glanced at Kihyun’s phone briefly. _Minhyuk. The watch._ Somebody else knows that he’s here. Changkyun stands up abruptly and turns towards Kihyun as the other guy shakes his arm to get his attention.

 

“Changkyun... He said I need to help you. I think someone is after you.”

 

Changkyun glares at Kihyun. “My brother is dead, Kihyun. How did you speak to him?” Kihyun looks towards the closet in response to Changkyun’s question. Changkyun walks to the closet and throws the door open, and sees a teleportation watch half-covered by one of Kihyun’s sweaters on one of the shelves. Changkyun picks it up and shakes his head sadly. “You don’t know what you’re getting yourself into here, Ki…” Without warning, Changkyun throws the watch against the wall with all of his strength, causing the watch to shatter with a deafening smash. Kihyun stares at the broken glass on the floor as Changkyun drops the watch on the ground. “I would never forgive myself if Hyungwon got his hands on you.” Changkyun mumbles to himself. “That _bastard_.”

 

Kihyun’s eyes start to shimmer slightly as he looks at the younger guy seething with anger. “Changkyun… I can’t ignore what your brother said. I made a promise to him.”

 

“My brother is _dead,_ Ki.” Changkyun snaps back. “There’s nothing you can do about it. If you cared about our friendship in the slightest, you’d drop the whole thing and let me deal with this by myself.” He walks towards the door and opens it, pausing for a second. “Get some sleep. You’ll be late for your morning class.” Changkyun shuts the door behind him before Kihyun can reply, and sets off towards the local coffee shop.


	9. Broken Promises

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> can you believe ive hit 10k words on this??? im astounded! thank u all for ur support on the fic so far, i hope all of you are enjoying it :')
> 
> i have a curiouscat now if anyone wants to ask anything!!!!! (curiouscat.me/sewuwu) ~ the answers will be posted to my twitter which is @sewuwu !!
> 
> anyway, enjoy!!!

The sound of the door slamming reverberated throughout the quiet dorm building. Kihyun could do nothing but stare at the smashed glass on the wooden floor. He knew that he should have gone after Changkyun, he knew that he shouldn’t have let him go away when he was in such a foul mood, but Kihyun was rooted to the spot. The broken glass scattered at his feet reminded him of the promises he had made. Broken, scattered.

 

Shaking himself free of his thoughts, Kihyun bends down towards the discarded watch and carefully brushes the broken glass away from it, before picking it up. He handles the watch gently in his hand, seemingly afraid of the fragility of the device. As he looks closely at the clock faces, he notices that the watch is still ticking, and after giving the dials a few experimental twists, Kihyun realises that it is still working. He can’t help but smile. He still has a chance to keep his promise to both Changkyun and Changkyun’s brother.

 

He places the watch on his desk, next to the picture of his mother, and opens up the notes page on his laptop. He thinks about the conversation he had with Changkyun and tries to work out where his next move should take him. He taps his fingers against the desk as he thinks carefully, trying to pinpoint important details. Changkyun was definitely in some sort of situation that he thought he could deal with himself, so Kihyun was right about his home life being an issue. But there had to be something else. There _had_ to be something else. After five minutes of thinking and coming up with nothing in particular, he groans in frustration and goes to close the document. As his computer mouse hovers over the exit button, he is suddenly struck by a thought.

 

Hyung…

 

_Hyung what?_

 

Hyunggu?

 

God, _what_ did Changkyun say?

 

Won. Hyungwon.

 

Kihyun types it out before he forgets and he stares at the word on his screen for a few minutes. He is 90% sure that this was the name Changkyun was mumbling about. He said something about this guy getting his hands on Kihyun. Hyungwon was obviously the issue and, if Kihyun deduced correctly, the person to blame for Changkyun’s brother’s demise. But a name would only get Kihyun so far. He decides that he will do some research into this elusive Hyungwon in his morning lecture, and with that, closes his laptop and gets a few hours of sleep in before the sun rises over Seoul once again.

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

Changkyun walks out of the dormitory and leaves the university campus, taking in deep breaths of fresh, night air to try and calm himself down. He couldn’t be angry when confronting Kihyun’s friend about the watch.  He had to seem approachable and friendly if he was going to take the device away from Minhyuk’s excited hands.

 

He walks down the steep street, with Namsan mountain towering behind him, and heads towards the coffee shop at the end of the road. It was easy to navigate to at night-time, being one of the few businesses in the neighbourhood still open at 1 in the morning. The coffee shop’s lights illuminate the street around it, and if Changkyun wasn’t so set on getting in to the café, he would’ve admired the way the orange lighting has a warmth and inviting sense about it. As he reaches the entrance, Changkyun realises that he’s not even sure what he is going to say to Minhyuk. How do you casually bring up the fact that you read Kihyun’s texts, didn’t tell him about it, and have come to take the watch out of Minhyuk’s possession? Changkyun sighs to himself. There is no easy way around this. The bell above the door rings as Changkyun opens the door, cutting into the calm atmosphere that the café’s soothing R&B playlist had created. Minhyuk comes out of the kitchen, and before looking up, gives the assumed customer the usual greeting.

 

“Good evening! Welcome to Paris Bague-“ He stops when he locks eyes with Changkyun. He frowns for a second before plastering his usual customer-friendly smile on his face. “Uh, hi! Changkyun, right? What can I get you?”

 

Changkyun’s eyes flit up to the menu for 2 seconds before he realises that he doesn’t want anything in particular, but his throat was feeling dry after his argument with Kihyun. “Can I get some water?”

 

Minhyuk looks taken aback for a moment before nodding enthusiastically. “Water! Sure, sure. I’ll grab that for you.” As he walks into the kitchen, Changkyun wanders to a table and settles himself down in one of the plush chairs, taking in the miscellaneous decorations around him. In another life, Changkyun wouldn’t have minded working in a coffee shop like this, it seemed quite peaceful and enjoyable. His thoughts are interrupted by Minhyuk placing the glass on the table and hovering next to him for a second. Changkyun looks up at him and nods towards the chair opposite him. “Have a seat. Unless you’ve got other customers to serve...?” They both look around at the empty café. Minhyuk smiles weakly as he has no choice but to take Changkyun up on his offer.

 

“So…” Changkyun begins after taking a sip of his water. He places his hands on the table and folds his fingers together.

 

Minhyuk looks at the folded hands for a second before distracting himself with something in the distance. “So…”

 

There was no subtle way of easing into the conversation Changkyun wanted to have, so he decides that throwing it out there is the best course of action. “I know about the watch.”

 

Minhyuk’s eyes widen for a second before he puts on an impassive, yet questioning expression. “The… watch? I’m sorry, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

 

Changkyun lets out an aggravated sigh and leans forward slightly. “Let’s not play games, Minhyuk.” The other guy flinches when he hears his name leave Changkyun’s lips. “I read the messages you sent to Kihyun. I’m here to save you both from trouble.”

 

Minhyuk rolls his eyes slightly and leans back, away from Changkyun’s piercing stare. “Who are you?” Changkyun is surprised by the change in topic but is cut off from responding as Minhyuk continues. “I know your name is Changkyun, and I know that you’re some mysterious pretty boy that Kihyun won’t stop looking out for every time we are out. But who _are_ you, Changkyun? What are you doing with my Kihyunnie?”

 

Changkyun hums in response and leans back as well. It all made sense to him. Minhyuk likes Kihyun, and Changkyun was the person in-between them. He smirks as he thinks about how he can use this situation to his advantage. “I’m just a guy. I didn’t plan on getting Kihyun involved in anything, but he didn’t really help himself. I just want to make sure he isn’t involved further.” He looks at Minhyuk and musters up a look of pure compassion and concern. “I don’t want him to get hurt, and I’m sure you can relate to that.”

 

Just when Changkyun thinks that his attempt at conveying unease are getting rusty, Minhyuk nods slowly and looks at Changkyun with a look that matched his own. “What do you want me to do?”

 

“I need that watch that you found. And it’s important that Kihyun doesn’t know that you had one. He needs to stop looking into them. It’s a whole lot of trouble he doesn’t need to get involved in.”

 

Minhyuk frowns slightly as he thinks about the watch sitting in his tote bag. “What kind of trouble?”

 

Changkyun stands up and walks back towards the counter. “You don’t need to worry yourself with the details. Just know that Ki will be in over his head if this goes any further, and I won’t be able to save him.” He taps his foot impatiently. “Do you have the watch here?”

 

Minhyuk pushes his chair back, picks up the glass and places it on the counter. “Yeah… yeah. Just give me a second.” Changkyun watches Minhyuk’s retreating figure and hears him rustle around in what he assumes is his bag. The other guy walks back around the counter and stands opposite Changkyun. “Here you go, dude.”

 

Changkyun finally smiles and sighs in relief as he looks at the watch in front of him. “Thank you. You’re a good friend to Kihyun.” Minhyuk smiles sadly as he offers the watch to Changkyun. As Changkyun’s hands clasp around the watch, the smile drops from Minhyuk’s face and he locks eyes with him. Changkyun doesn’t realise what is happening until he hears the click of the button. His eyes widen and they’re both thrown into the teleportation rift before he can warn Minhyuk to stop.

 

What the _hell_ has Minhyuk done?


	10. Remember, Remember

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i should 100% be asleep right now but i NEEDED to post this chapter tonight.... 
> 
> did y'all see kihyun's selfie yesterday? the brunette hair???? i can SENSE the comeback
> 
> anyways kwlkkqwjlw perhaps we are building up towards the climax of the story hehe.... enjoy !

Kihyun half expects to see Changkyun watching over him when he wakes up the morning after their argument. But then he remembers that Changkyun isn’t Edward Cullen and he’s not in some lucid time travel dream. Well, now that Kihyun thinks about it, aspects of Changkyun are exactly like that of the fictional vampire – they’re both mysterious, quiet, a little terrifying, beautiful… Kihyun hadn’t really considered this before but yes, Changkyun _was_ beautiful. But that’s beside the point. Changkyun has too much going on in his life, he didn’t have time for some loser university student trailing after him when he’s out there, time-travelling and fighting bad guys. At least that’s what Kihyun assumes Changkyun does. He has been assuming Changkyun is the good guy in all of this since the start, to be honest.

 

Pushing thoughts of Changkyun’s moral compass to the back of his mind to ponder on later, Kihyun makes his way through his usual morning routine before his morning lecture. He grabs the damaged watch and his laptop on his way out of his room and heads towards the lecture hall, disappearing into the usual crowds of students leaving his dormitory building.

 

When he finally makes it down the infamous campus mountain and into his lecture hall, he looks around for the familiar bright smile in the crowd in front of him. After scanning all of the rows as quickly as he can, Kihyun frowns at Minhyuk’s absence and trudges towards the back of the lecture hall, tucking himself on the end of the row. To anybody else that was watching him open up his laptop and notebook, it would look like Kihyun is preparing himself for the business lecture ahead, but the character profile websites and peculiar news forums currently open on his desktop tell a different story. He is on a bit of a wild-goose chase having only a name to go on in his search for the elusive Hyungwon, but it is better than nothing. After scrolling through a few hundred character profiles with the name Hyungwon, Kihyun soon realises that he’s going to have to be a bit more specific. He starts to search the name with terms like “teleportation”, “time travel” and “watch” but comes across nothing new. As his lecturer goes on about something to do with the problems with trickle-down economics, Kihyun scratches his head as he tries to think of a different way of approaching his search.

 

He decides to think about Hyungwon as if he is the true villain of this situation. He has potentially murdered someone, and has plans to kill again in this theory, so what would he be involved in? A one of revenge plot? Possible. A gang? Also possible. Was he the leader of this gang? That seemed to be the case with the way Changkyun spoke about him. He had pinned all of the blame on this one guy. Kihyun taps the words “gang” and “mafia” along with Hyungwon into the search bar and changes the date search to 2015 and prays for a miracle as he hits the enter button. According to Google, he waits 0.31 seconds for his results to appear, but it feels like minutes to Kihyun. But he has results. He has articles filled with information on a Hyungwon being questioned on the suspicious death of a young male in 2015. Kihyun gasps slightly at the blurred picture of the victim. The blonde hair looked familiar. He reads on and clings onto any information he can get on the suspected killer, copy and pasting it into a word document as he goes.

 

As the lecture draws to a close, Kihyun has almost 4 pages of random sentences in his document. From his searches, he has been able to get information on the gang’s last known hide-out in 2015, and the approximate dates in which they operated in said hide-out.  Feeling satisfied with his results, Kihyun shuts his laptop and shoves it in his bag, before leaving the lecture hall and setting off towards the nearest bathroom.

 

After checking that the other stalls are free from occupants, Kihyun locks himself in the stall furthest from the entrance to the bathroom. He pulls the watch out of his jacket pocket, and looks at the date he had scribbled onto his hand during his lecture. He turns the watch dials a few times to decipher which dial corresponds to the different parts of the watch before successfully inputting the date he wanted into the device. He stares at it for a few moments. November 5th, 2015. Two days before the car crash. That should give him enough time. He pushes the button in and braces himself for the warping sensation.

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

Four hands grip onto the watch as tightly as physically possible as they plunge through the rift. The two bodies slam into the earth beneath them as they finally arrive at their unknown destination. Changkyun blinks slowly and rubs his head, he hasn’t experienced a teleportation landing that bumpy since his training days. His reminiscing is suddenly cut off by a cough underneath him and he’s brought back to the reality of the situation. Changkyun glares at the body beneath him before grabbing onto the other guy’s jumper, pushing him further into the ground.

 

“What the _hell_ are you doing?” Changkyun all but growls at Minhyuk. “Do you realise what you’ve done? How could you be so _stupid_?”

 

Minhyuk looks at him with wide eyes, and pales when he realises just how angry Changkyun is. He stutters in response and then groans, going to clutch at the wound on the side of his head. Changkyun stops him mid-movement and pushes his head further into the ground, making sure to rub the injury into the ground a little bit before releasing pressure. Minhyuk cries out in pain and pushes Changkyun off of him with all of his strength, and staggers to stand up. Changkyun growls and pushes the other in response before ripping the watch from Minhyuk’s grip. “This,” Changkyun gestures to the watch, “ _this_ is not yours to use. Do you realise how badly you’ve fucked up, Minhyuk? _Do you?_ ”

 

Minhyuk winces and shakes his head. “Dude I… I…”

 

“You _what_?”

 

“I… didn’t think it would work.”

 

Changkyun can’t help but laugh. He laughs and laughs before sighing and walking straight up to Minhyuk and pinning him against the wall. “We’re in 2015, you _idiot._ Somebody planted this in your fucking café for you to find, because they _knew_ you’d be stupid enough to press a few buttons. They _want_ you to be here.” Changkyun lets go of Minhyuk and laughs again as he thinks about the whole situtation. “This is fucking _GREAT._ ”

 

Minhyuk looks at the laughing boy and panics as his attention flicks to the buildings surrounding them. He glances at a newspaper that been screwed up on the floor at the end of the street and walks towards it, bending down to take a look at it. He unfolds the paper slowly and searches for the date. November 6th, 2015. _Fuck._ “We’re really… in 2015?”

 

Changkyun laughs harshly at his panicked statement and takes the newspaper from Minhyuk’s shaking hands. “Yes. I wouldn’t lie about this shit.”

 

Minhyuk frowns in response. “I’m sorry if I don’t exactly trust you. You’ve not really given me much reason _to_ trust you so far.”

 

Changkyun rolls his eyes. “Fair enough. After that little stunt you pulled? I don’t trust you either. But if you want to survive, you need to listen to me.” He throws the newspaper back on the ground and takes a second to get a sense of their location. Changkyun was sure they were in Daegu, which doesn’t bode well for what Changkyun presumes is waiting for them. “You better hope my phone survived that shitty landing,” he mumbles as he takes a moment to search for his phone in his jacket. Whilst he feels around in his pocket for his phone, Changkyun feels a tug at his sleeve. He looks up at Minhyuk’s hand clasping onto his denim sleeve, and follows the arm up to see his face frozen in a state of panic. He then follows Minhyuk’s line of sight and spots the three ominous men in suits walking towards them and feels a rush of adrenaline course through his body. He’d recognise Hyungwon’s stocky meatheads anywhere. He tugs at Minhyuk’s arm and clasps the whitening hand in his own.

 

“Remember what I said about listening to me?” Minhyuk nods quickly, eyes still wide. “I’m going to need you to run.”


	11. Duryu

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLO!!!!! this one is a LONG ONE! 
> 
> its all going down. tw for violence !!!!!

Kihyun doesn’t understand how the watch knows where to take him, but he is currently in the middle of an alleyway next to Daegu bus station. Exactly where he wants to be. His theory about the teleportation device being linked to the user’s mind must have _some_ truth to it. He feels quite impressed with himself. He dusts himself down and puts the device in his pocket, keeping his hands in his coat to keep him warm, before setting off towards the outskirts of Duryu park – the last known location of Hyungwon’s gang.

 

As he walks down the main street, Kihyun can’t help but think about Changkyun. Has he gone back to Kihyun’s dorm to talk? Was he worrying about Kihyun? Did he know that Kihyun has gone to a different _year_? If Changkyun wasn’t angry with Kihyun before, he definitely would be once he found _that_ out. God.

 

As he looks at his phone’s GPS, he is surprised to see that he has almost made it to the supposed headquarters, but as Kihyun looks up at the destination in front of him, he is sceptical. The park is next to a theme park, that seems thriving and alive despite it being November, and there are plenty of couples wrapped up in their winter coats wandering around the park, taking in the pretty sky above them. The place certainly didn’t scream “evil gang hideout”. Despite his uncertainty, Kihyun continues on into the park itself, following a dirt path the GPS has highlighted on his map. The path takes him through a thicket of trees which are starting to turn a subtle white colour with the first fall of snow. As the path continues, the trees suddenly break away to reveal what looks like an ordinary public toilet building.

 

His GPS beeps. “You have reached your destination.”

 

Kihyun frowns at the building before double-checking his phone. He really doesn’t feel like freezing his ass off whilst snooping around a public toilet. Accepting his reality, Kihyun shoves his phone back into his pocket, and slowly walks towards the entrance. He kicks the door open with his snowy boot, he doesn’t want to touch anything if he can help it. As he walks through the door and towards the stalls, the place gives off the vibe that it hasn’t been used in a long time. There is dust everywhere, and the ceiling is decorated with cobwebs that have been glittered with frost. Even so, there must be something here for Kihyun to find. He kicks open the stall doors one at a time, hoping to come across a note, or a bit of graffiti that can give him _something_ to work with. He’s three stalls into his search and he still hasn’t seen anything unusual, unless you count a frosty bird nest as something to take note of. The sun is setting outside as he leaves the third stall and makes his way to the fourth. He flicks his phone’s torch on and kicks open the stall door. As the door hits the wall with a bang, Kihyun senses something behind him and turns around abruptly. He shines his phone around the room and sighs in relief at the emptiness surrounding him.

 

“Get it together, Kihyun,” he mumbles to himself as he peers into stall number four. He only has two more stalls to check and then he can leave this stinking room. He gives the room a quick glance as he turns back around, still wary of something behind him. He turns back towards the stalls and pushes the stall door open, and notices something on the floor, shining in his torch light. He walks forward and bends down towards the toilet bowl, despite his disgust, and reaches out to pick up the shining object. As his hand makes contact with the object, he feels the presence behind him again. Before he gets the chance to turn around, he is shoved forward, his head smacking the toilet bowl in the process. His world fades to black.

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

Heavy breathing and footsteps. That’s all Changkyun can hear for twenty minutes whilst him and Minhyuk get away from the men in black. They run through the weaving Daegu alleyways, Changkyun leading the way, with the men tailing behind them for fifteen minutes. They only just manage to lose them when Changkyun thinks to move their route onto the flat rooftops above. They take shelter in a small, dilapidated hut that must have been used for storing cleaning supplies at some point, which would explain the strong bleach smell in the air around them. Minhyuk all but collapses onto the ground, taking in long breaths as he runs shaky fingers through his hair. Changkyun leans against the wall, keeping one eye on the roof outside.

 

“Are we…” A deep breath. “Are we safe?” Minhyuk’s looking up at Changkyun with those same wide eyes and flushed cheeks, his hair a dishevelled mess. Changkyun could admit the guy was good-looking. He nods slowly, before looking out of the crack of the door again.

 

“We’ll stay here for ten minutes. And then we’ll move towards Duryu park.”

 

“Duryu park?”

  
“Yes. That’s where they are based. Or at least, they used to be. It’s our best lead.”

 

Minhyuk hums quietly and a silence falls between them for a few minutes. Once he’s sure nobody is coming towards their rooftop, Changkyun slides down the wall and sits opposite Minhyuk. He fiddles with the teleportation device to keep himself amused.

 

Minhyuk breaks the silence. “Who are they?” When Changkyun looks up at him, frowning slightly, Minhyuk continues. “Those guys… the suit guys. And the people in Dugu park…”

 

Changkyun interrupts him. “ _Duryu_ park.”

 

“Yeah, yeah… whatever.” Minhyuk rolls his eyes and sighs. “Who are they? Do you know them?”

 

Changkyun puts the watch on the floor and sits up slightly, rolling his shoulders before speaking again. “Yeah, I know them. I wish I didn’t. They killed my brother.” He pauses.” Or I suppose, they _will._ Tomorrow.”

 

Minhyuk gapes at this. Changkyun smirks. He managed to make Lee Minhyuk speechless? That’s a feat.

 

“I’ll try to make this as easy as possible to follow. Hyungwon – he’s the guy in charge of this entire shit show – he’s from a rival family. His father and my father hated each other. I don’t know why; I chose not to get involved in family politics. Neither did Jooheon, my brother. But Hyungwon did. He was so caught up in all of it; the politics and laws of teleportation; the fact my family still had working devices even though they should have been confiscated; he _hated_ it. So he got his dad’s old gang back together and he stole some watches from us. I’m guessing the watches that you and Kihyun have are part of that stolen lot. And now he’s set on killing us, all because of some stupid fucking family rivalry.”

 

Minhyuk sits in silence for a few minutes, which Changkyun is grateful for. He needs a moment to reign his emotions in before speaking again.

 

“Kihyun has a watch?”

 

Changkyun had braced himself for Minhyuk to ask some deep questions about his family, so he can’t help but laugh at the question given. He shakes his head to try and stop his laughter so he can give an answer.

 

“Yes, he does. I’m assuming Hyungwon left one for him to find the same day you found yours.”

 

Minhyuk nods in response. “Did he… use it?”

 

“Yes. But I’ve destroyed the watch, so he should be safe.” Changkyun gets up and stretches his arms above his head. “We should get going, before the sun sets.”

 

Minhyuk hurries to his feet and copies Changkyun in stretching his arms slightly, before following him out of the door.

 

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

The ropes rub harshly at Kihyun’s wrists and ankles as his body regains consciousness. His vision is obscured by what he assumes is a blindfold, and his hearing is impacted by the complete silence around him, so the pain at his extremities are the only indication that he is awake. Despite the rational part of his mind telling him not to make it worse, Kihyun tugs at the ropes, but whimpers in pain as they cut further into his skin. He coughs against the gag in his mouth, his breath rattling against his sore ribcage. What did they do to him?

 

A door slamming behind him cuts his thoughts short and his body starts to shake in response to the unfamiliar and unsettling situation. He tries to control his increasingly rapid breaths and grips his fingers together to keep himself grounded.

 

“Kihyun. Hello.” The voice is distant and muffled, like it is coming from a speaker. And it is emotionless. So very very emotionless. It makes Kihyun shiver again. “Glad to see that you’re awake. I’m sure you know why I have brought you here.” Kihyun frowns against the blindfold as he thinks about what Changkyun had warned him about _._ Kihyun senses someone walking towards him, and gets flashbacks to the stalls. It takes all of his energy to nod slowly, and he can barely stop the fearful sob rising in his throat as he realises that he is _way_ out of his depth here.

 

“There’s no need to be afraid. I only have a few questions for you, and then you will be free to leave. That’s what you want, right?” Kihyun nods again. There’s not much more he _can_ do.

 

As he nods, the blindfold is suddenly ripped away from his head, revealing the brightly lit room in front of him. He blinks away the pain in his eyes, which is seemingly intensified by the head injury from earlier. He continues to wince at the lights, and decides to look down at his lap to give his eyes some salvation. It doesn’t last long though, as his head is pulled up from behind, forcing him to look straight at the bright bulbs and the huge, ominous speaker above him.

 

The black box speaks to him again. “You will be useful to us. It is within your best interest.” As the second sentence is blasted out for Kihyun to hear, the other person in the room steps around to the side of the room that Kihyun is facing. The guy in front of Kihyun must be at least 6ft 5, with muscles that were bigger than Kihyun’s head. He has a scar running down the left side of his face, which makes his already blank eyes seem even more menacing. He doesn’t seem like he was going to do much of the talking here. The cold voice cuts in again. “This is Jinhyung. You two can be good friends, if you cooperate.” Jinhyung smiles at this, a crooked smile that doesn’t make Kihyun keen on the friendship idea.

 

“Enough of the formalities,” the speaker crackles. “Let’s get down to business. Our sources have told us that you are familiar with Im Changkyun. Is this correct?”

 

Kihyun doesn’t respond. He doesn’t know what the situation is between Hyungwon and Changkyun, and he doesn’t know who is in the right, but he isn’t about to take the side of the guy who has beaten him up and tied him to a chair. He barely registers Jinhyung moving before he feels a fist slam into his already bruised ribs, making him wheeze and take in a shaky breath as he rights himself again.

 

The speaker sighs. “Come now, Kihyun, this is no fun. We _know_ that you are familiar with Changkyun. We _know_ that you have an assumed personal relationship with him. Play along.”

 

Kihyun hates that he can’t control the blush that dusts his cheeks as he thinks about the idea of him and Changkyun having a personal relationship. He’s really choosing _right now_ to get flushed over a _boy_? He needs to get his priorities in order.

 

“Perhaps the removal of the mouth gag may help. Jinhyung, would you do the honours?” Kihyun eyes the taller male warily as his hand reaches towards Kihyun’s face. He can’t help but flinch as Jinhyung rips the gag away and stuffs the rag into his pocket. He grins at Kihyun’s response.

 

“Shall we try again? You know Changkyun – that has been established. Did he talk to you about the teleportation device that you used to get here?”

 

Kihyun bites down on his lip as he realises that the device is no longer in his pocket. Of course it wasn’t. He couldn’t help but feel the sudden hopelessness at the fact that the one escape route he had has been taken from him. He grips his hands together and digs his fingernails into his palms even more as he fights back the tears welling up in his eyes. He will not let Hyungwon see him cry. God, he feels like he’s back at that night at his father’s house. The first time he saw Changkyun… That felt like an eternity ago.

 

“Well?” Hyungwon snaps at him. Kihyun shakes his head in response. “Speak, Kihyun.”

 

“N-no.” Kihyun’s voice cracks. His throat feels so sore. “He didn’t.” As he stutters out the two words, his face meets Jinhyung’s fist and he’s thrown across the floor, the chair following him. He falls harshly onto the concrete floor and the sob that had been fighting in his throat wracks through his entire body, cutting into the silence of the room. He wishes he could stop the tears falling from his eyes, he wishes he could just wipe them away, but the ropes tightening around his wrists remind him of his harsh reality once again. Jinhyung picks his chair back up as if Kihyun weighs nothing, and rights him, making him face the speaker once again. Kihyun coughs back the trapped sobs in his throat and takes a deep breath in anticipation for the next question.

 

“I don’t _want_ to hurt you Kihyun, but I have no other choice if you keep things from me, you understand that right? If you play along, the pain can go away.” The offer should sound tempting to Kihyun, as his body aches with excruciating pain, but there is a part of him that just can’t give up on Changkyun like that. He hasn’t even known the guy for very long, but this part of Kihyun feels so attached to him, so fascinated and occupied with everything Changkyun, that he can’t possibly give this guy any information about the mysterious teleporting boy. Kihyun realises he is _very much_ on a side, and he needs to stand up for it.

 

“I’m not going to tell you anything.”

 

Hyungwon lets out a quick chuckle at Kihyun’s sudden comment. “I’m sorry, what was that? You’re not-“

 

“I’m not saying anything.”

 

The sigh that plays from the speaker seems to hang in the air long after it plays. “Very well. Jinhyung?” Jinhyung grins at this, mumbling what sounds like “finally” and grabs Kihyun by the shoulders before throwing him across the room again. Kihyun tries to grit his teeth and bear the pain, thinking of Changkyun the entire time. Jinhyung throws punch after punch at every part of Kihyun he can reach. Kihyun sees nothing but a blur of arm movements above him as his eyes start to leak again. He hates that he’s crying. He hates that he isn’t strong enough to fight back. He’s hates that he’s never been a fighter. He _hates_ that he wishes for the final blow that will knock him unconscious.

 

As he closes his eyes and wishes for some reprieve from the relentless violence, the attack against his body suddenly ceases. Kihyun slowly opens his eyes to look at the dreaded room again, fearing the sight of Jinhyung in front of him. When the beast of a man is nowhere to be seen, Kihyun lets out a small sigh of relief before wincing at the aching pains in his chest. He didn’t realise that a human could hurt this much and still be breathing, although his blackening vision tells him that he might not be breathing for long. As he starts to close his eyes again, two figures run towards Kihyun’s injured body. Kihyun could recognise that face anywhere.

 

“Changkyun…” he sighs, before he finally succumbs to the darkness.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading ^_^
> 
> comments and kudos are always appreciated!!! and if you want to chat/scream, im @sewuwu on twitter!


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